“The most important business book to come out in years.” – Michael F. Schein , author and columnist for Forbes, Inc , and Psychology Today 2021 International Book Awards finalist in Small Business & Entrepreneurship and Marketing & Advertising #1 New Release in Business Encyclopedias, Marketing Research, Customer Relations, and Customer Service What Your Customer Wants (And Can’t Tell You) explains the neuroscience of consumer behavior. Learn exactly why people buy—and how to use that knowledge to improve pricing, increase sales, create better “brain-friendly” brand messaging, and be a more effective leader. Behavioral economics is the marketing research future of brands and business. This book goes beyond an academic understanding of behavioral economics and into practical applications. Learn how real businesses and business professionals can use science to make their companies better. Business owner, consultant, and behavioral economics expert Melina Palmer helps leaders like you use the psychology of the consumer, innovation, and truly impactful branding to achieve real, bottom-line benefits. Discover information and tools you can actually use to influence consumers. Go beyond data science for business and apply behavioral economics. Learn how the consumer brain works. Become a better leader and creatively and effectively market your brand by understanding the true needs of your customers. Dramatically improve your effectiveness as a leader and marketer with the practical tools in this If you liked marketing and business books like Nudge , Predictably Irrational , or This is Marketing by Seth Godin, you’ll love What Your Customer Wants (And Can’t Tell You) .
Melina Palmer is a globally celebrated keynote speaker showing companies how they can easily get customers to buy and employees to buy in by leveraging the power of behavioral economics. She is CEO of The Brainy Business, which provides behavioral economics training and consulting to businesses of all sizes from around the world. Her podcast, The Brainy Business: Understanding the Psychology of Why People Buy, has downloads in over 170 countries and is used as a resource for teaching applied behavioral economics for many universities and businesses. Melina teaches applied behavioral economics through the Texas A&M Human Behavior Lab and obtained her master’s in behavioral economics from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. A proud member of the Global Association of Applied Behavioral Scientists, Melina has contributed research to the Association for Consumer Research, Filene Research Institute, and writes on Behavioral Economics & Business for Inc Magazine. Her first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You (2021), won first place in the Chanticleer International Book Awards in its category, of which her second book, What Your Employees Need and Can’t Tell You (2022), was also a finalist. Her highly anticipated third book, The Truth About Pricing, is scheduled to publish in January 2024.
I might be a biased about this book having read many others on similar subjects. For a person who doesnt have a clue of behavioral economics and cognitive psychology, this may be a decent starting point, but to me, it just felt like reading a children's bedtime book because of the way the author's words across.
All throughout the book, I kept thinking/asking, ”why is this woman treating me as if I was 7 years old?”
3 stars for content, but -1 for the ”dummies” vibe the book gave off.
To be honest, the book oversells itself (heavily) and then under-delivers. This is at best a high level compilation of select behavioural science concepts. The most irritating part about the book is how the end of every chapter tries to move the user to the “brainy business podcast” (why would I do that, when what I have in front of me is fairly disappointing?) and talks about upcoming / previously covered concepts in the book. The examples are shallow and should be replaced by more in depth case studies.
Abandoning it with some 20% content to go.
For what it is worth, capturing some of the concepts which were more a refresher :
Dopamine : released in anticipation of a reward. Release is highest before you get the reward. Negative dopamine (hyping something up and then not delivering it) can lead to angry consumers.
Mirror neurons : we learn from watching others, we emphathize. A video of a buying process will greatly increase buying, a cursor clicking on subscribe button will increase subscription … how employees interact with customers will also impact how customers interact with your employees.
Framing : a charming cozy property > an old small property. The power of numbers (95% dentists recommend this toothpaste, 4 out of 5 consumers come back > 78 percent consumers come back). How you say things matters more than what you are saying
Priming : showing visuals or exposing scents to the subconscious influences decision making later on. Adding slow music in grocery store makes consumers stay longer and purchase more. Power of touch - blankets are left open so you can touch them and be convinced. Big fonts seem your prices seem higher?
Anchoring - 10 for 10$ vs a dollar each. Former buys more purchasing
Relativity - single espresso machine not selling in a store. You put a bigger one at 2x the price, and the first one will move. Another example - how many minutes do you have to run to burn the calories in what you are eating
Loss aversion - it takes the double the joy from a gain to cover up the disappointment from a loss Paying incentives to sales folks upfront and telling them it will be deducted from next month cheque if not hit, makes more of them hit the target (than if incentives were paid later).
Scarcity drives additional purchases esp when coupled with easy returns policy (eg limited stocks only, no questions asked returns).
Herding - herd mentality; we get a feeling of protection when we go with the herd. Restaurants seed their tip jars to give a sense that others have already tipped - so it must be the right thing to do. Conventionally wrong > unconventionally right.
Six types of social proof : expert, celebrity, user, wisdom of the crowd, friends, certifications Someone in uniform is always trusted more. Even if not an expert on the topic.
The paradox of choice: our brain gets overwhelmed with too many choices.
People are less creative under time constraints.
Generally it is not a good idea to constantly remind consumers on how much something is charging them - it is the pain of paying. Converting currency to chips / tokens (eg casino) can reduce the pain; so can simply removing the commas
When consumers are waiting, it is better to tell them what is going on behind the scenes. Eg tracking in food delivery
The peak end rule: extend bad experiences past the peak to make sure the negative peak is not the end. And for positive experiences, try to make the peak the end. Employee reviews should also be mindful of this fallacy.
For luxury or gifting items, keep the pricing as a whole number (eg 90 dollars) - higher value attached. For a bargain item, keep it below the whole number (eg 89 or 85 dollars)
You trust your gut, right? Well, so did many other business leaders, just before their gut reactions led them to make decisions that brought down great companies and high-flying careers. Melina Palmer’s book, relying on the latest research in behavioral economics, shows you how to avoid the dangerous judgment errors called cognitive biases that brought down previously-successful leaders. Palmer is an excellent science and business communicator and provides clear and business-relevant explanations of what you need to know to use behavioral economics insights to protect your company and career.
Tons of great tips and a focus on small things that make buying your product easier for your customer: Making a map of the customer experience on your website or in the store with questions they have or little inconveniences they run into, question-storming, the idea that Einstein spent 90% of time thinking about the problem, and 10% of time the solution. Things like removing the $ reduces the pain of paying. The idea that price doesn't matter as much as the frame around it. Pricing of a luxury gift should end in a whole number while cents below the whole number are associated with a bargain. Don't justify a price raise - say it confidently. Put a post-it on things to increase response (try on direct mail - "Hey! I think you'll like these!"). End cold emails with a question (what questions do you have? Can I send you a sample Is this the best address for a sample?".
The concepts covered are as follows. When making an ad, run through these concepts to see if you can incorporate more of them. Framing, Priming, anchoring & adjustment, relativity, loss aversion, scarcity, herding & social proof, nudges and choice architecture, paradox of choice, partitioning, pain of paying, surprise and delight, peak-end rule, habits, reciprocity.
If this book had a summary, it should be "Just listen to the podcast".
Pros: This book is great for beginners who might be new to the concepts. The author explains the information very simply and clearly.
Cons: Book is a giant nudge to push you to listen to the podcast. Very basic and surface-level - if you want anything deeper, turn to other books. Or possibly her podcast, since she is constantly recommending specific podcast episodes "if you want more information."
This tactic is hugely irritating. The author covers information at a basic level and then suggests her podcast for additional information. Is might be just me, but would I expect the BOOK to have that deeper information instead of sending me to the podcast. Honestly, I'm listening to the audio version and nearly every section ends with a list of chapters that will also touch on the topic, and the podcast episodes to listen to for more info. Stop sending readers to other places. Keep the information in order and add the extras at the end of the book, not at the end of the section. It's hugely annoying and I'm not sure if I'll even make it through the rest of the book.
I had this book on Audibles and I feel my review could be a little more inclined towards how we perceive something when we hear about it as compared to actually reading it. It can be a good book for the ones who are just entering into the business world. It can be a starter that can enhance your apetite but not the full meal definitely.
Most of the concepts were quite basic, plus the details of never ending podcasts and a 'nudge' to listen to them was quite a turn off. If one was interested in listening to podcasts, why would they take so much time reading a book. A book is supposed to be having more details than a podcast but it was the opposite case here. I can't say that this book is not applicable to business cases, it is indeed. Yet, this needs to be titled as a book for beginners so that it can be used completely by the right audience.
Language was quite clear and simple. For those who are going to listen to this book, the narrator has a clear speech and is easily understandable.
For what it is - a basic introduction to behavioural economics for marketing - this is decent. Can't pretend I learned anything new (other than some different terms for concepts I already knew), but considering I've been in marketing strategy for a decade it'd be worrying if it were otherwise.
For newcomers to the topic / industry, this'd be a valuable primer. Key concepts covered (a chapter for each) include: - Framing - Priming - Anchoring and adjustment - Relativity - Loss aversion - Scarcity - Herding - Social proof - Nudges and choice architecture - Paradox of choice - Partitioning - Peak-end rule - Habits - Reciprocity - Pricing - Testing
Plus a bunch of others. Each chapter's clear, accessible, and points to relevant episodes of the author's podcast for more details. I was listening to the audiobook version, so no idea if there was a bibliography or footnotes, but I'd imagine it'd be a handy reference book for early career stage types either way.
I don't typically write reviews, but after reading What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You, I felt compelled to tell anyone who will listen to READ THIS BOOK. If you don't think you have customers and that this book doesn't apply to you and your life, you are wrong. Everyone has customers- people with whom they engage and want to influence certain behaviors. And everyone has encountered (more times than they would like to admit) someone (or even themselves) who says they want one thing and then do something completely counter to what they said they wanted. This book helps you understand why that is and what you can do about it. It's written so you can read it cover to cover or pick and choose certain concepts to learn about or reference. Melina skillfully breaks down behavioral science concepts in a way that anyone can understand and immediately apply them to their own situation.
I was intrigued when I heard ‘What Your Customer Wants And Can’t Tell You’ (aka Unlocked: Getting Inside the Customers Head in Canada) was published as I’ve been enjoying The Brainy Business Podcast and absorbing all the content on the show.
This book explored how customers make decisions...really how they make decisions, not just how we think they make decisions. The author teaches us how we can use science to make our companies better.
I loved how the book included practical applications and presented so many helpful insights. I read the book cover to cover, but you could jump to any of the concepts and apply them to relevant situations you encounter.
This was a very enjoyable read and there were so many aha moments that this is going to be such a useful resource for years to come.
Very easy read with practical applications. A good intro into the psychology of marketing. I recommend for business owners, marketers and consumers.
I’ve read a few books on behavioural economics/human cognitive biases but still found this book very worthwhile, by applying behavioural economics concepts to business strategies.
This book does simplify the topics and does apply a bit of pop psychology. I’m knit picking here but for example, the hot, cold coffee mentioned in the book was actually debunked as the experiment failed to replicate. I did find that some parts of this book seemed to continually advertise her podcast.
As consumer, it’s actually very easy and interesting to spot marketers use this same techniques. Like the world of marketing is all around us, all tapping into the human psyche but the exact marketing strategies are often hard to spot.
This book is difficult to rate and I planned on writing a long review explaining it all, but eventually realised that the book is not worth it. So in short:
Read Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow instead. It has more science, better examples and zero ads. This book on the other hand is filled with ads about the book itself, the writer and her podcast. If you have already read Thinking Fast and Slow and feel like reading another book about the same topic with marketing framing, then read this one, and skip the ads.
Fantastic Book. Useful tools resources and insights.
Great book and highly recommended for anyone, not just those looking to grow or improve their business. I learned a lot and was also reminded of many of the concepts and learnings that influence our behavior everyday. I also enjoyed the resources and exercises included in the book that help you to apply the learnings from the book.
Melina Palmer overhypes consumer behavior studies, making it seem like after 2000 years living in a civilization without understanding each other, we now finally know excatly how a human brain works and how to lead it to buy our products. Sadly this is false, and she spends around 80% of the book saying common knowledge statements, 10% saying probably false statements and 10% actually saying something important.
"...by not accepting that what they have always done was the right or best way, the world changed, and they did not let it stop them from creating something awesome."
My favorite topics discussed in this book: - Choice Architecture - Scarcity - Wisdom of the crowd - Surprise and Delight - The Decoy Item - Storytelling
Excellent summation and crystallization of many important points in the Behavioral Economics sphere. If you are, like me, a frequent reader on the topic, there will be much familiarity in the book, but the format is excellent and designed for easy consumption in digestible bites. I've marked my copy up throughout and that's usually a very good indicator of engagement and relevance.
A very insightful book on behavioural economics which led to me reading other behavioural economics books. Very well written, with areas that may seem to be boring but made "enjoyable" by Melina. However, some parts did seem like she was selling her podcasts, youtube channels and other books throughout it. I recommend to those who want to save more money.
Fascinating content that can be applied. The continual pointing to the podcast seriously undermined the quality of the content and became boring. If she really knows her customers surely she knows that over self promotion undermines credibility. Even a lot of the examples featured podcast guests - another opportunity to promote it. A real shame as it could’ve been a great book.
Tried really really hard to read this book (5times) but cannot bear it anymore. Two points of summary: 1. CLICK-BAIT: throughout the book, for almost every point the author makes, she refers the reader to her podcast references and illustrations. 2. NOT a completed book: refer to point 1.
I admire Melina’s way of explaining scientific concepts in easy language and enjoy listening to her Brainy Business podcasts. The book is filled with plenty of useful business tips based on behavioural economics. However, it felt more like a textbook for marketers than storytelling.
The book in content and attitude is very American. Not wrong, of course, but many of the examples didn’t sit right with me. That said, this is a good introduction to the subject. Easy to read so readers can understand the concepts & start thinking for themselves how to apply these.
The thing I really liked about this book were the numerous resources they suggested for going deeper in the content that was discussed. The author also constantly reminds you that each organization is different, so you have to test constantly to refine or works best for you.
2.5 While there’s not a lot new here for me, there are some good reminders to take note of and it’s useful to have it compiled. Would still recommend to people who is new to small businesses and behavioral economics due to its conversational tone making it accessible
I hate most business books. They offer some promise in their title and book jacket and they rarely deliver. I finish most and say, "That could have been a pamphlet." Most of the best stuff is either right in the beginning and the book should have been much shorter, or it's a slow boil but I'm so bored by the time I get to the meat of it I've checked out.
Not this book. I listened to some of Melina's podcast episodes, but I wanted to get the book to find out more. I think the podcast episodes may be more robust than the book is, but I still thought it was really well executed. She's very organized, and delivered each theme or idea in a chapter with relevant examples. For anyone in a job dealing with the public, this is a a must read. I've made so many notes that I'll be referring to for years.